10 Ways Newbies Can Leverage Frequent Flyer Miles & Hotel Loyalty Points

 We all have our favorite online pastimes and one of mine is visiting the forums over at FlyerTalk and MilePoint. These are two message boards devoted to helping travelers make better use of their frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty points.

I joined FlyerTalk in 2007 with the goal of learning how to book award tickets to South Africa. With the techniques I picked up from the boards I was able to redeem my first award tickets: two roundtrip business class seats from JFK to Johannesburg, South Africa on Delta.

After that initial success, I was hooked and managing my loyalty accounts is now one of my favorite hobbies! Since our trip to Africa we've traveled around the world on award tickets—mostly in first or business class. We've visited London, Athens, Maui (twice), Oahu, Tahiti, Hong Kong, Bali, and some more ho-hum domestic cities. We've netted free (high-end) hotel stays in Maui, Tahiti, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Bali, and Rome.

This morning a new FlyerTalker posted a question asking for pointers so he can learn more about award options and frequent fly/stay programs in general. I posted some advice for him and will expound upon it below. I hope you find it useful too! Don't let your frequent flyer miles languish!

Learn about Frequent Flyer Programs

Read the forums (FlyerTalk and MilePoint) religiously. Scan the forums that are devoted to the programs in which you already participate. You'll be amazed at how much you'll learn. It's also useful to read forums for programs that you aren't actively participating in because it will help you decide which programs may be best for you to join in the future. Don't be shy! Post when you've got information to share.

Get Advice from the Pros

Read the blogs. My daily hit list includes:

The Points Guy (Brian Kelly)

View from the Wing (Gary Leff)

Frugal Travel Guy (Rick Ingersoll)

One Mile at a Time (Ben "Lucky" Schlappig)

Read InsideFlyer Magazine

If you prefer a traditional magazine over online forums, subscribe to InsideFlyer magazine (available in print form or online). The magazine runs several features per month offering advice and loyalty program overviews. The deal section in the back features current promotions from airlines, hotels, and credit-card companies.

Go to a Frequent Traveler Seminar 

If you can get to one of the frequent traveler seminars, do it! I went to Frequent Traveler University in April and learned quite a bit. Another popular educational event is the Chicago Seminars. There's one coming up on October 29–30.

Track Your Miles and Points

Create a tracking system for your miles and points. You can simply use an Excel spreadsheet or a program like AwardWallet. I use both...a spreadsheet to track pending miles and points and AwardWallet to see my balances across programs at a glance.

To Churn or Not to Churn Credit Cards

Signing up for credit cards that offer large start-up bonuses is one of the most lucrative methods of earning frequent flyer miles or hotel loyalty points. In the past, Chase has offered 100,000 miles for its British Airways-branded Visa card and Citi has offered a variety of bonuses (50,000, 60,000, 75,000, and 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles) for its Citi AAdvantage Visa, Mastercard, and Amex cards. American Express frequently offers bonuses for its Membership Rewards program as well as other cards branded by Hilton, Starwood, and JetBlue. You get the idea.

If you wish to get into credit card churning you need an excellent credit score as well as the ability to keep track of minimum spend requirements, pay off your balance in full each month, and keep track of annual card anniversaries. Churning isn't for everyone. Read all about it at Frugal Travel Guy. He's the guru when it comes to credit card deals. Follow his advice and you'll be fine.

With churning you'll need to study what deals are available and what has been offered in the past. For example, Chase has offered its 100,000-mile deal on its British Airways-branded Visa card twice in the past. Knowing that information, I'd suggest that you wait to get a Chase British Airways Visa until that deal is offered again in the future. (The current offer is a 50,000-mile bonus.)

Not all credit cards are "churnable". Read the credit card forums at FlyerTalk, MilePoint, or FatWallet for more information.

Understand Airline Fare Codes

You'll need to understand airline fare codes in order to successfully snag award seats and upgrades. Knowing about fare buckets will help you effectively search for award and upgrade availability. Threads at FlyerTalk and MilePoint will offer some good background. You'll also want a subscription to Expert Flyer. This website shows flight/seat availability, award and upgrade availability for many airlines, and fare information.

Which Programs are a Fit for Your Travel Plans?

Decide which programs you're going to devote your energies to. That will depend on 1) your home airport and 2) your travel goals. Think about where you want to go in the next few years and research who flies there and what hotels you'd stay at. Then look at airline alliances...which is best suited to get you where you want to go?

I like OneWorld and focus on American Airlines (where I've got Lifetime Gold status) and British Airways. I can then use miles from either of those programs on any OneWorld partner, like Cathay Pacific, LAN, Qantas, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Finnair, etc. Since my husband and I frequently go to Southeast Asia, we tend to burn our miles on Cathay Pacific first class tickets. At only 135,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles per passenger, it's an excellent redemption value. (Roundtrip business class is 110,000 miles per person.)

I find it easy to earn miles (butt-in-seat and promo bonuses) on both American Airlines and British Airways. (My Chase BA Visa card nets me 1.25 BA miles for every $1 I spend on the card.)

My secondary program is Continental/United and they are part of Star Alliance. Lots of great partners as well. If you're a Delta flyer, you'll want to learn about SkyTeam.

Transferring Miles and Points

A key strategy in the award travel game is the ability to transfer miles/points to the programs you're most interested in. Check out American Express Membership Rewards, where you can transfer (most often on a 1:1 basis) MR points to your preferred frequent flyer program. Many airlines participate, including (but not limited to) Aeroplan, All Nippon, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, EL AL, FlyingBlue, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. Membership Rewards transfers are instant in many cases.

I love that Membership Rewards often offers bonuses on transfers. For example, transfers to British Airways between now and July 31st receive a 50% bonus. You must transfer in 1,000-point increments so, for example, if you transfer 1,000 Membership Rewards points you'll receive 1,500 British Airways miles. MR also often offers bonuses on transfers to Delta.

Another excellent transfer partner is American Express' Starwood-branded credit card. With this card you can transfer points to miles in many frequent flyer programs. When you transfer 20,000 points, you'll receive 25,000 miles.

Consider All Promotions, No Matter How Small

Oftentimes, companies offer promotions that will net you a few miles and points here or there. For example, Continental often offers 100 OnePass miles for registering to learn more about one of the airline's services. (These particular promos are targeted to flyers who hold a Chase Continental credit card.) 

Likewise, TopGuest is a social media tool that allows individuals to earn 50 hotel points in a variety of programs (Best Western Rewards, Hilton HHonors, Choice Privleges, Priority Club, Wyndham Rewards, etc.) for simply doing an online "check in" using FourSquare, Facebook, or other social media platform.

Don't bypass these promotions. It might sound like a waste of time to earn 50 points here or 100 points there, but it all adds up.


That's my advice for today. Take stock of your mileage and point balances and start making travel plans!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Review of Cathay Pacific First Class Service (YYZ to DPS)

We're back from a fantastic trip to Bali, Indonesia and Hong Kong and we have a new favorite airline for long-haul trips to Asia: Cathay Pacific. I loved the excellent service, from super-fast check-in to comfortable airport lounges to caring stewardesses in the air—I'd rank the experience a solid A.

We weren't able to get first class award seats on the JFK to Hong Kong flight on the day we wanted, so we flew out of Toronto instead. Since we had a layover of a few hours, we booked a day room at the Sheraton Gateway Toronto that's attached to Terminal 3 of Pearson International Airport. It was so nice to be on-site, get a few hours sleep, grab drinks in the Club Lounge, and then check-in for our Cathay flight, which was taking off at 1:30am.

Cathay doesn't have its own lounge at the Toronto airport, but first class passengers do have access to the KLM lounge. The lounge is fine; nothing special. The staff seemed quite tired. When I asked for the wi-fi password, the receptionist handed me the tiniest slip of paper with a code on one side. She didn't say a word; just slid the paper (blank side up) across the desk to me. Odd.



Upon boarding Cathay's 777, we were pleasantly surprised by the six spacious first class suites. It was just us and one other passenger. We knew we'd be comfortable for the 15-hour flight. We also decided to try transition to Hong Kong time, so we stayed up and enjoyed a lovely meal.

The list of complimentary beverages was extensive:

Champagne
Krug Grand Cuvee Champagne

White Wines
Hardy's Heritage Reserve Bin Chardonnay 2008
Bouchard Pere & Fils Meusault Les Clous 2006

Red Wines
D'Arenberg The Galvo Garage Cabernet Blend 2008
Sebastiani Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Chateau Lynch Bages 2003

Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10-Year-Old Tawny Port

Aperitifs and Cocktails
Campari • Martini Rosso • Martini Extra Dry • Tio Pepe Sherry • Harveys Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry • Gordons Dry Gin • Bacardi Rum • Absolut Vodka • Bloody Mary • Screwdriver

Whiskies
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old • Johnnie Walker Blue Label • Canadian Club • Gentleman Jack Bourbon • Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve Single Malt Whisky

Cognac
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition

Liqueurs
Cointreau • Drambuie • Kahlua • Bailey's Irish Cream

Beer
International selection

CX Signature Drinks
Oriental Breeze—A sour-plum tea and cranberry juice based non-alcoholic drink with honey and fresh lemon juice and a hint of rose water.

Cloud Nine—A refreshing combination of vodka, Cointreau, and Sprite with a refreshing touch of lemon flavor.

Dinner itself was very good as well.

A couple can comfortably dine together in Cathay Pacific's 777 first class suites.

We skipped the first course of caviar and Balik salmon and the soup course (roasted red pepper) and instead began with a smoked duck breast over salad and...

...grilled prawns over salad.

The main entree, pan-fried U.S. beef tenderloin, was quite tasty.

The in-flight cheese course was surprisingly good...

...but dessert could have been better. The ice cream was rock solid and the chocolate lava cake was also colder than I would have wished. Perhaps Cathay should stick with something that's a bit easier to prepare at 30,000 feet?

Once dinner was over, I got comfortable in the lie-flat bed and watched a few DVDs on my laptop before drifting off to sleep.


We arrived in Hong Kong at about 5 o'clock in the morning and were still groggy. We went directly to The Wing, Cathay's first class lounge, and headed for the showers. Once we felt a bit more human, we checked e-mail, made a few calls, had a traditional Chinese breakfast, and then boarded our next flight to Bali.

I was dead tired at this point and pretty much slept through the entire five-hour flight. When the flight attendants roused me for landing, I was feeling pretty punk. We had flown from New York to Toronto to Hong Kong and were finally nearing our destination of Jimbaran Bay, Bali. I don't know how anyone could make this trip in economy. I loved having the additional space to stretch out in first class and the priority access to the lounges and aircraft itself made a huge difference.

I had heard horror stories about DPS, but we sailed right through the airport...first getting our visitor's visa and then going through passport control.

Upon exiting the airport, our driver from the InterContinental Bali Resort was waiting for us with cold drinks and a nicely appointed—and air-conditioned—Mercedes. The transfer to the hotel took less than 20 minutes. As we drove up to the InterContinental Bali and past a gorgeous lily pond holding court in front of the hotel, we knew we had made the right decision about which accommodations to book. We were ushered to the Club Lounge, where we checked in and enjoyed a refreshing drink or two.

We were in our room, a Club Duplex, within minutes. Our plan had been to stay up late in order to get our bodies on Bali time. We threw that plan right out the window since we were both so tired. We enjoyed a few more cocktails in the Club Lounge, along with some snacks and then headed back to our room where we fell into a wonderful night's sleep.

Stay tuned for the next blog post about our stay at the InterContinental Bali Resort on Jimbaran Bay.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Photos © Leonard Hospidor

Cathay Pacific's First Class Service to Asia

On Thursday we lift off for Bali via Hong Kong on one of Cathay Pacific's 777-300 ERs with three-class service. The aircraft seats 301 travelers with six in first class, 57 in business, and 238 in economy.

We decided to burn some of our frequent flyer miles and booked two first class seats. Here are some photos—courtesy of Cathay Pacific—of this cabin. The lie-flat bed will make it so much easier to get some rest and acclimate to the time change.

Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER first class cabin

Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER first class cabin

Roomy seating

Personal closet for carry-on luggage

Dining table

Lie-flat bed

If you've got any tips for making the 15-hour trip from the East Coast to Hong Kong a bit easier, please write a comment!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Photos courtesy of Cathay Pacific

Snag a Seat on a Private Jet for the Cost of Commercial Business Class

Maybe you've looked into fractional jet ownership before and couldn't quite justify the expense. Now a new company called WannaJet wants a crack at your business. The idea they're floating is this: share a private jet flight for the price of a business class ticket on a commercial flight.

First, decide where you wish to fly within the United States or Europe. Then go to WannaJet's website and either post your travel plans or join an existing group that's going your way on the appropriate date. At least four travelers must request the same route.

Once a full complement of travelers is formed, the itinerary is confirmed and WannaJet contacts its partners that operate private jets and charters one that is appropriate for your travel plans.

The fixed price is provided via the site's online booking engine so you'll know the per seat fee before locking into the itinerary. Figure on an average of $820 per hour in the air. For example, a flight plan that's currently posted on WannaJet's site departs from Westchester County Airport in New York and lands at DeKalb Peachtree Airport in Atlanta for $1,719 per person (one way).

Sixty domestic business routes are available and service onboard the jets rivals or exceeds top first-class offerings—professional attendants, multi-course meals, in-flight entertainment—from the commercial airlines.

What happens if the other passengers drop out at the last minute? Will you have to foot the bill for the entire jet? No. As long as four people are confirmed on your flight, you're good to go. If for some reason the passenger count drops below the required four passengers within 72 hours prior to take off, the company will offer to rebook you on a comparable commercial flight for the same price you agreed upon. That gesture doesn't quite hit the mark though if you've had your heart set on a private jet experience.

For more information, visit WannaJet.com.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Flying to Tahiti: Which Airline is Best?

After our fantastic experience aboard SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream II in January, Leonard and I couldn't go too long without booking another cruise. So, now we're planning to try the new Paul Gauguin Cruises in May. Yeah!

As you may know, Regent Seven Seas Cruises used to manage the Paul Gauguin but relinquished operations to the ship's owner this past January. Pacific Beachcomber S.C.—owner of five high-end resort properties in French Polynesia—also owns the new Paul Gauguin Cruises.

The line has retained most of the original crew and early reports from those who cruised aboard the PG in January were very positive. We can't wait to investigate the ship for ourselves.

Of course, first we need to actually get to Tahiti. It looks like our options are limited to Air Tahiti Nui and Air France, both of whom fly nonstop from Los Angeles (LAX) to Papeete, Tahiti (PPT).

If we select Air France, we'll be on a Boeing 777-200. Air Tahiti Nui is using the Airbus 340-300.

Can any of you share your experiences flying to Tahiti in economy on either of these carriers? If so, please add a comment to this post. Thanks!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Photo of m/s Paul Gauguin courtesy of Paul Gauguin Cruises

Hip Hip Hooray for Delta Award Travel!

Frequent flyer mile junkies have long bemoaned Delta's program saying it's far too easy to amass hundreds of thousands of miles and much too difficult to actually spend them on award travel.

I must say that I agree with part one of that statement. It is very easy to earn frequent flyer miles from Delta but unlike some others, I've had great luck redeeming them for long-haul travel and last-minute getaways.

We were able to book award tickets to Istanbul and back from Athens for our upcoming Seabourn Odyssey cruise. I originally booked a nonstop to Turkey but could only get a connecting flight on the way home from Greece. I kept checking Delta's award calendar and, finally, the nonstop flight we wanted opened up. I called Delta's SkyMiles number and in just a few minutes locked in the better itinerary. Thank you Delta! You just saved us six hours!

Delta SkyMiles reps are terrific and have always been friendly and helpful when I've called. That's why I'm not afraid to continue to build my SkyMiles account.

Here's part of my strategy to keep my Delta SkyMiles balance high:

Register for all promotions. Visit Delta.com frequently and register for all promotions, even if you don't think they apply to you. You never know when a last minute business trip will crop up. (For example, Delta is currently offering 2,500 bonus miles per segment flown between NYC and BOS.) In 2008, I earned over 200,000 bonus miles from these types of promotions.

Apply for the American Express Delta SkyMiles credit card and receive up to 25,000 bonus miles.

Shop at Delta's online mall: SkyMilesShopping.com. This mall tends to have the best deals as far as miles earned per dollar spent. However, I always check several loyalty malls before making a purchase.

By following this simple strategy, you can earn tons of miles in no time. Which frequent flyer program is your favorite and why?

—Andrea M. Rotondo

Need a Visa for Travel This Summer? Delta Will Give You 1k SkyMiles

Many of us have international travel plans this summer that will require a visa. (I'll need one for my pre-cruise land tour of Turkey prior to boarding Seabourn Odyssey in July.)

Consider CIBT if you're planning on using a visa/passport service to process your paperwork. By clicking to their website through Delta's special link, you'll receive a 30 percent discount on visa services plus 1,000 Delta SkyMiles.

Don't forget to enter your Delta SkyMiles number on the online order form in order to receive your bonus miles. —Andrea M. Rotondo

Photo courtesy of Delta Air Lines

Addicted to Frequent Flyer Miles & Loyalty Points?

I have a confession to make: I'm addicted to earning frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty program points. It all started about two years ago when I was planning my first trip to Africa. I knew I wanted business class seats for the long journey, but I didn't have enough frequent flyer miles in one account to book the seats. I wasn't sure what to do until I found the FlyerTalk forum.

FlyerTalk is an interactive community of frequent flyers, but all types of travel reward programs are discussed (air, hotel, car rentals, etc.). There are forums for just about every airline, hotel program, and several reward credit cards.

Within weeks of reading posts at the forum I learned how to leverage the frequent flyer miles and American Express Membership Rewards that I had built up. I also learned what fare classes to search for when it comes to award tickets and upgrades using frequent flyer miles. (Subscribe to ExpertFlyer.com to read more about airline fare classes and inventory buckets. If you're about to book an award ticket, you shouldn't do so without consulting ExpertFlyer first.)

With these tools, I transferred miles from Amex Membership Rewards to my Continental account. I then called Continental's award desk, armed with several itinerary options, and was able to book two business class tickets on partner airline, Delta (JFK to DKR to CPT and JNB to DKR to JFK).

Success! And I Become Obsessed

The addiction began to grow after that initial conquest. I turned my attention to my American Airlines account. I had a few miles, but not enough to book a trip anywhere. So, I began playing word games at Live Search Club in order to convert winning tickets into frequent flyer miles. Seventy-five thousand miles later I booked tickets to Papeete, Tahiti.

My AA AAdvantage account kept growing due to various promotions, the use of a branded credit card, and the program's online shopping mall.

Moving On to Hotel Loyalty Programs

As I learned more about travel rewards, I realized that hotel loyalty programs were another avenue for low-cost, luxury getaways. For my Africa trip, I took advantage of a sign-up bonus for the American Express Starwood card. I focused all of my spending on this card for the next few months and built up a vacation's worth of points to be used at hotels across the globe.

And, just recently I found out that American Airlines miles can be converted to Hilton HHonors points...yet one more excellent way to plan an inexpensive but top-notch vacation.

Resources to Bookmark Now

If you aren't yet mesmerized by the possibility of loyalty program rewards, visit the following resources to learn more:

• FlyerTalk forums
  
• ExpertFlyer.com subscription database to view airline award and upgrade availability
  
• Inside Flyer print magazine covering loyalty program information
  
• SeatExpert.com and SeatGuru.com for airplane seat selection guides

If you've got additional frequent flyer/loyalty program hints and tricks, please let me know. My compulsion to snag low-cost, high-class travel isn't going away anytime soon!

25k American Aadvantage Miles with Silversea

American Airlines Cruises is running a promotion that will net you 25,000 Aadvantage frequent flyer miles if you book select 2008 Alaskan or European cruise itineraries.

Alaskan Voyages
9 nights aboard the Silver Shadow (Vancouver, BC roundtrip)
August 1 and 27, 2008 (starting at $5,515pp)

10 nights aboard the Silver Shadow (San Francisco to Vancouver, BC)
July 13, 2008 (starting at ($5,940pp)

European Voyages
Scandinavia: 12 nights aboard the Silver Wind
July 2, 2008 (starting at $7,102pp)

Western Europe: 12 nights aboard the Silver Cloud
August 31, 2008 (starting at $7,461pp)

Baltics: 10 nights aboard the Silver Wind
July 16, 2008 (starting at $8,260pp)
August 19, 2008 (starting at $8,260pp)

British Isles: 12 nights aboard the Silver Wind
August 29, 2008 (starting at $9,925pp)

North Cape: 15 nights aboard the Silver Wind
July 21, 2008 (starting at $10,196pp)

Northern Europe: 15 nights aboard the Silver Cloud
August 5, 2008 (starting at $11,596pp)

To learn more about American Airlines Cruises or make a reservation, call 1-877-367-6070.

Silverjet Stops Flying

With the high price of oil these days and the shuttering of several other airlines in recent days, it probably comes as no surprise that Silverjet has ceased operations. Billed as an all business class service, Silverjet served a niche market flying to and from New York (Newark), London, and Dubai.

The airline has suspended all flights as of May 30, 2008. If you're holding a Silverjet ticket for future passage, call your credit card company to request a refund. If you're mid-trip, call other airlines serving your destination and ask if they will honor Silverjet tickets or offer a low-cost alternative as a goodwill gesture.

Silverjet executives are speaking with other investors but, at this time, have been unable to procure the funds needed to keep the airline flying.